Keep Your School Drug Free

We all want our schools to be safe for students to learn and grow; keeping the classroom drug free is a good way to accomplish that goal. The first step to a drug free school is health and safety training. Teachers, principals, custodians, office staff and other adults working at the school need to understand the changing trends and nature of drug use among teens. Knowing the facts, recognizing the signs and preparing the correct response will ensure you are the person students turn to when they need help.
Drug use and abuse continues to change over time. There is some good news for our young people - approximately 75 to 80 percent of youth say they do not use drugs or alcohol on a regular basis. That's an encouraging trend we hope to see continue and grow for years to come. Meanwhile, the age at which a student first experiments with drugs or alcohol is creeping lower and the frequency of use is increasing.
Alcohol, tobacco and marijuana are the most common drugs used by students in seventh through twelfth grades. Over-the-counter and prescription drugs are emerging as the latest trend for abusers. In many cases, children are finding these prescriptions in their parents' medicine cabinet.
The age at which a student first tries drugs or has more than a few sips of alcohol is dropping at an alarming rate. Elementary school students are unlikely to develop an addiction to these substances, but they are experimenting. In fact, more than six percent of fourth graders say they have tried beer or liquor. In middle school, addictions can begin to develop. Children are starting to change and grow more which means they are more susceptible to alcohol or drug addictions. In high school, students are at the peak risk of becoming addicted and they are putting their lives on the line more and more every year. In a 2007 survey, close to 45 percent of high school students report to have consumed alcohol in the 30 days before the survey. Close to 30 percent of same students said they rode in a car with someone who had been drinking in the month before the survey.
Alcohol and drug abuse can have deadly consequences for young people. According to the American Medical Association, drinking was involved in almost half of all teen automobile accidents and was linked to two-thirds of all assaults and date rapes. Marijuana use is equally detrimental to young people. It can lead to addiction, memory or learning impairment, chronic cough and neck or throat cancer. Prescription drugs have varying effects on young people because there are so many different kinds of drugs. The most common side effects are depression, addiction, brain damage, stroke, overdose and theft to obtain more drugs. Performance enhancing drugs are being abused by young athletes around the country as well. These drugs can lead to heart attack, liver damage, stunted growth, stroke and hyper aggressive behavior.
Regular school employee training and school safety programs will help teachers recognize the risk factors and common signs of drug use or abuse. Teachers spend much of their time with young people and can be the first line of defense to realize unusual behaviors. Proper health and safety training must be repeated often, as drug use and trends continue to change over time. Specialized and recurring trainings are the best way to help teachers and staff keep students - and themselves - safe.

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